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Ukraine is in a “critical situation” after the new Russian bombardments on several power plants this Tuesday, October 18, in kyiv, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. President Volodímir Zelenski denounced in the last hours that the Russian attacks, since last October 10, have destroyed 30% of the nation’s electrical installations. In other war news, Washington questioned Tehran about the prominence that the Iranian-made kamikaze drones with which Moscow is intensifying the conflict have acquired.
Russia launches Iranian drones in its renewed offensive against Ukraine. Questions are raised about the possible role of Tehran and Beijing in the conflict.
Ukrainian soil was impacted this Tuesday, October 18, by a new avalanche of attacks by Shahed-136 unmanned aircraft, known as kamikaze drones, which kyiv and the West claim are Iranian-made.
The attacks of the last few hours affected critical civil infrastructure throughout the country. The attacks hit a power facility in kyiv, the country’s capital, and severely damaged infrastructure in Dnipro in the east, Kharkiv in the northeast and Mykolaiv in the south, local authorities confirmed.
The assaults also cut power and water supplies across Zhytomyr, a city with military bases, as Moscow escalates what appears to be a deliberate campaign to destroy power and water facilities ahead of winter.
Zelensky says “30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed” by Russian missile and drone attacks, “causing massive blackouts across the country.” https://t.co/DE1DDCdRPf
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 18, 2022
President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that Russian air strikes have destroyed 30% of the power plants of the attacked country since last October 10.
Zelenski accused the Kremlin of terrorizing and killing civilians with these actions, which this Tuesday leaves at least two people dead in kyiv alone. In Mykolaiv a man was killed when a missile hit an apartment building.
On Monday, October 17, the attacks claimed the lives of at least four residents in other cities.
After the great setbacks suffered by the Russian troops in the last two months, in which kyiv recovered large swaths of territory and expelled the invading soldiers from the Kharkiv region, President Vladimir Putin launched a renewed war strategy.
Among other moves, Putin earlier this month appointed Sergei Suvorikin as overall commander of what Moscow calls his “special operation.” Under the leadership of the man who served in Syria and Chechnya and is dubbed ‘General Armageddon’ by the Russian media because of his toughness, Moscow’s military has carried out the largest wave of missile attacks on Ukraine since the invasion began on 24 March. february.
Why is the West eyeing the possible role of Iran and China in the Russian war?
The kamikaze drones with which kyiv and its Western allies maintain that Russia is inflicting significant blows on civilians and the country’s energy infrastructure, are very precise and cause the greatest possible destruction since they can fly up to 2,500 kilometers.
For the United States, there is no doubt that they are manufactured by Iran and supplied to Moscow. In fact, these are weapons known as Geran or Shahed, which means “martyr”, in the Islamic world.
They can hit more specific targets, unlike large missiles, which have a 800-meter margin of error.
While the Kremlin neither confirms nor denies the origin of the drones with which it has renewed its attacks, Iran denies that it is supplying these drones to Russian troops.
However, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, accused Tehran of “lying” and assured that Washington has proof that such Iranian weapons are being used by Moscow against both military and civilian targets on the ground. ukrainian
“We have been warning since July that Iran was planning to sell drones to Russia for use against Ukraine… We also publicly stated that Russia has received drones from Iran, while Russian operators continue to receive Iranian training on how to use them. Jean-Pierre asserted.
Likewise, questions are raised from the West about the possible role of China in Moscow’s new strategy in the war, since the materials with which these drones are manufactured come from the Asian giant.
In the midst of international sanctions against the Kremlin for the conflict in Ukraine and against the Islamic Republic for its nuclear program – which among other measures prohibit Iranian officials from traveling abroad and block their bank accounts abroad – it is not clear how that kind of drones have arrived in Russia.
The United States, the United Kingdom and France point out that the alleged fact that Tehran supplies these weapons to Moscow violates a UN Security Council resolution, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement between the Iranian government and six powers.
Despite the warnings, the spokesperson for the Joe Biden government also indicated that Iran is considering the sale of “more destructive weapons to support the invasion it says it opposes.”
With Reuters, AP and local media
